Chastain passes on Iron Man 3 role

Jessica Chastain has denied that she will appear in Iron Man 3.

The Oscar-nominated actress had been eyeing the role of a "sexy scientist" - who rivals the intelligence of Robert Downey Jr's character (Tony Stark) - in Shane Black's third instalment of Marvel's superhero series.

However, Jessica has now revealed that she has been unable to take the part due to scheduling conflicts.

"Sorry to say that Iron Man 3 isn't going to work out. My schedule is jammed packed and I can't fit anything else in," she wrote on her Facebook page.

"The press announced my possible attachment far too soon. I know many of you wanted me to be involved, and I'm so sorry to disappoint you."

But Jessica - who has starred in The Help, The Tree Of Life, Take Shelter and Coriolanus - isn't ruling out a future outing with the world-famous comic book characters.

"Hopefully there'll be another Marvel film in my future. Shane Black and everyone on the IM3 team are really wonderful," she continued.

The actress added: "I'm very excited to see the film when it comes out."

Jessica is currently filming Kathryn Bigelow's drama about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, Zero Dark Thirty alongside Joel Edgerton and Mark Strong, and she's poised to star in the drama The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby: Her.

Robert is set to reprise his role in the forthcoming follow-up with Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle, joined by newcomers Guy Pearce and Sir Ben Kingsley.